Variable gain power amplifiers

ABSTRACT

A variable-gain power amplifying technique includes generating, with a network of one or more reactive components included in an oscillator, a first oscillating signal, and outputting, via one or more taps included in the network of the reactive components, a second oscillating signal. The second oscillating signal has a magnitude that is proportional to and less than the first oscillating signal. The power amplifying technique further includes selecting one of the first and second oscillating signals to use for generating a power-amplified output signal, and amplifying the selected one of the first and second oscillating signals to generate the power-amplified output signal.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/627,249, filed Jun. 19, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/755,462, filed Jun. 30, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.9,685,907, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to electrical circuits, and in particular, topower amplifiers.

BACKGROUND

Transceivers are used in a wide variety of applications, such as, forexample, mobile telephones, radios, and wireless communication. Atransceiver may use a power amplifier to increase the power of a signaldriving an antenna so that the power of the signal is strong enough toreach relatively far distances. Many types of transceiver applicationsmay be power-limited and/or area-limited. For example, a mobile phoneradio may use a battery with a limited amount of power, and may have alimited amount of space for transceiver components. Designing poweramplifiers for low-power, low-area transceivers can present significantchallenges.

SUMMARY

According to some aspects of this disclosure, an integrated circuitincludes an oscillator and a power amplifier. The oscillator includes afirst node, a second node, and a network of one or more reactivecomponents coupled between the first node and the second node. Thenetwork of the reactive components has at least one tap between thefirst and second nodes. The oscillator further includes a first outputcoupled to the network of the reactive components via the second node,and a second output coupled to the network of the reactive componentsvia the tap. The power amplifier includes a first input coupled to thefirst output of the oscillator, a second input coupled to the secondoutput of the oscillator, and an output.

According to additional aspects of this disclosure, an integratedcircuit includes a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) having one ormore reactive components. The integrated circuit further includes aprogrammable passive attenuation circuit coupled to the VCO. Theprogrammable passive attenuation circuit includes at least a portion ofthe one or more reactive components included in the VCO. The integratedcircuit further includes a power amplifier coupled to the programmablepassive attenuation circuit.

According to additional aspects of this disclosure, a method includesgenerating, with a network of one or more reactive components includedin voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), a first oscillating signal. Themethod further includes outputting, via one or more taps included in thenetwork of the reactive components, a second oscillating signal. Thesecond oscillating signal has a magnitude that is proportional to andless than the first oscillating signal. The method further includesselecting one of the first and second oscillating signals to use forgenerating a power-amplified output signal based on a gain control. Themethod further includes generating the power-amplified output signalbased on the selected one of the first and second oscillating signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example transmitter accordingto this disclosure.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams of the example transmitter of FIG. 1 inwhich example oscillators are illustrated in further detail according tothis disclosure.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are block diagrams of the example transmitter of FIG. 1 inwhich example power amplifiers are illustrated in further detailaccording to this disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example reactive componentnetwork that may be used in the example oscillators of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example oscillator thatincorporates the example reactive component network of FIG. 6 accordingto this disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example reactive component andswitching circuit that may be used in the example transmitters of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example oscillator thatincorporates the example reactive component network of FIG. 10 accordingto this disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure.

FIGS. 13-15 are schematic diagrams illustrating example amplifier stagesthat may be used in the power amplifiers of this disclosure.

FIGS. 16-20 are block diagrams illustrating additional exampletransmitters according to this disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating an example technique foramplifying the power of a signal according to this disclosure.

FIGS. 22 and 23 are schematic diagrams illustrating additional examplereactive component networks that may be used in the example oscillatorsof this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes variable-gain power amplifiers that may beused to amplify signals in transmitters and/or transceivers. In someexamples, a power amplifier may include an oscillator that includes anetwork of one or more reactive components. The network of reactivecomponents may include one or more taps that allow the oscillator tooutput different voltages that occur across different portions of thenetwork of reactive components. A power amplifier may receive thedifferent voltages, and selectively amplify one or more of the differentvoltages to obtain a power-amplified output signal.

Selectively amplifying different voltages that occur across differentportions of a network of reactive components in an oscillator may allowthe gain of a power amplifier to be adjusted, which may in turn allowthe output power of the amplifier to be adjusted based on dynamic powerrequirements of a transmitter. Allowing the output power of an amplifierto be adjusted based on the dynamic power requirements of thetransmitter may allow the overall power consumption of the transmitteror transceiver to be reduced. By using one or more taps of a network ofreactive components included in an oscillator to obtain the differentvoltages that are selectively amplified, the amount of components neededto obtain the different voltages may be reduced. In this way, a variablegain, relatively low-power amplifier may be obtained with a relativelysmall number of components.

In some examples, the network of one or more reactive components mayinclude one or more inductors coupled in series. In such examples, afirst voltage may be obtained across a first portion of the inductors,and a second voltage may be obtained across a second portion of theinductors. The second portion may be a subset of the first portion. Infurther examples, the network of reactive components may include one ormore capacitors coupled in series. Other examples are also possible andwithin the scope of this disclosure.

In some examples, to selectively amplify the multiple voltages, thepower amplifier may select one of the voltages based on a gain control,and amply the selected voltage using multiple amplifier stages. Infurther examples, to selectively amplify the multiple voltages, thepower amplifier may amplify each of the voltages in a separate amplifiersignal chain, and then select one of the amplified voltages based on again control.

In some examples, the power amplifier may include multiple gaincontrols. For example, the power amplifier may include a coarse gaincontrol that controls the selection of which of the oscillator voltagesto use for generating the power-amplified output signal, and a fine gaincontrol that controls the gain of one or both of the amplifier stages ina multi-stage amplifier that amplifies the selected oscillator voltage.The fine gain control may, in some examples, provide a continuous gaincontrol function, but the range of gain values over which the gaincontrol function is linear may be relatively small. Meanwhile, thecoarse gain control function may be linear over a relatively large rangeof gain values, but may be a discrete function with discrete gain steps.

Providing both coarse and fine gain control may allow the gain of apower amplifier to be finely tuned over a wide range of gain values. Inthis way, a power amplifier may be achieved that has relatively highprecision gain control over a relatively large range of output powersettings.

In some examples, one or more of the amplifier stages in the poweramplifier may include a differential, self-biased amplifier. Thedifferential self-biased amplifier may include a first variableresistance coupled between the power supply and the source terminals ofone or more pull-up transistors, and a second variable resistancecoupled between the ground rail and the source terminals of one or morepull-down transistors.

Increasing the variable resistances may increase the even-order harmonicsuppression of the amplifier stage, but decrease the gain of theamplifier stage. Decreasing the variable resistances may have theopposite effect. As such, by positioning variable resistances at theabove-described locations in the differential, self-biased amplifier,the tradeoff between even-order harmonic suppression and amplifier gainmay be dynamically adjusted and balanced in the power amplifier.

In further examples, one or more of the amplifier stages in the poweramplifier may be configurable to operate in a self-biased mode and anon-linear mode. The self-biased mode may provide a greater degree oflinearity than the non-linear mode, but may be less power efficient. Onthe other hand, the non-linear mode may be more power efficient, butprovide less linearity. By providing an amplifier stage that isconfigurable to operate in a self-biased mode and a non-linear mode, thetradeoff between linearity and power efficiency may be dynamicallyadjusted and balanced in the power amplifier.

In additional examples, the power amplifier may be a multi-stageamplifier where each of the stages includes a single-ended ordifferential self-biased amplifier. Each of the stages may furtherinclude an independently adjustable power rail voltage. Adjusting thepower rail voltage for a particular amplifier stage may cause theself-biased amplifier in that stage to bias at a different bias current,which may in turn adjust the gain of the self-biased amplifier.Therefore, by using independently adjustable power rail voltages for thedifferent self-biased amplifier stages, a multi-stage power amplifierwith stage-independent gain adjustment may be achieved with a relativelysmall number of circuit components.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example transmitter 10according to this disclosure. Transmitter 10 includes an oscillator 12,a power amplifier 14, a matching network 16, an antenna 18, connections20, 22, 24, 28, and a gain control lead 26. A first output of oscillator12 is coupled to a first input of power amplifier 14 via connection 20.A second output of oscillator 12 is coupled to a second input of poweramplifier 14 via connection 22. A gain control input of power amplifier14 is coupled to gain control lead 26. An output of power amplifier 14is coupled to an input of matching network 16 via connection 24. Anoutput of matching network 16 is coupled to an input of antenna 18 viaconnection 28.

Each of connections 20, 22, 24, 28 may be either a single-ended or adifferential connection, and may include one or more leads that form theconnection. A single-ended connection may be implemented as a singlelead. A differential connection may be implemented with a differentialpair of leads.

Oscillator 12 generates a first oscillating signal at the first outputof oscillator 12 and a second oscillating signal at the second output ofoscillator 12. The second oscillating signal may be an attenuatedversion of the first oscillating signal. The oscillating signals may besingle-ended signals or differential signals. Power amplifier 14receives the oscillating signals at the first and second inputs of poweramplifier 14, respectively, and generates a power-amplified outputsignal at the output of power amplifier 14 based on the oscillatingsignals. To generate the power-amplified output signal, power amplifier14 may select one of the oscillating signals, generate an amplifiedversion of the selected one of the oscillating signals, and output theamplified version of the selected one of the oscillating signals as thepower-amplified output signal. Power amplifier 14 may generate theamplified version of the selected one of the oscillating signals with again that is determined based on the gain control signal received at thegain control input of power amplifier 14. Matching network 16 receivesthe power-amplified output signal at the input of matching network 16,and transforms the power-amplified output signal to generate thetransformed-power-amplified output signal at the output of matchingnetwork 16. Matching network 16 may have an input impedance that isdesigned to substantially match the output impedance of power amplifier14, and an output impedance that substantially matches the impedance ofantenna 18. Antenna 18 receives the transformed-power-amplified outputsignal from matching network 16, and radiates the signal aselectromagnetic radiation.

To generate the oscillating signals at the first and second outputs ofoscillator 12, oscillator 12 may include a network of one or morereactive components, referred to herein as a reactive component network.The reactive component network may have a first node connected to afirst end of the network, a second node connected to a second end of thenetwork, and one or more taps connected at respective locations betweenthe first and second nodes.

In some examples, oscillator 12 may generate the first oscillatingsignal based on voltages at one or both of the first and second nodes,and generate the second oscillating signal based on voltages at one ormore of the taps. In examples where the oscillating signals aredifferential signals, the reactive component network may have at leasttwo taps located at two different locations between the first and secondnode. In such examples, the first oscillating signal may correspond to avoltage between the first and second nodes, and the second oscillatingsignal may correspond to a voltage between the first and second taps.

The reactive component network may include one or more reactivecomponents (e.g., inductors or capacitors). If the reactive componentnetwork contains more than one reactive component, the reactivecomponents may be coupled in series. In either case, the portion of theone or more reactive components between the first and second taps may bea subset of the portion of the reactive components between the first andsecond nodes. Thus, the reactance (e.g., inductance or capacitance)between the first and second taps may be less than the reactance betweenthe first and second nodes. Accordingly, the second oscillating signal,which corresponds to the voltage taken between the first and secondtaps, may be an attenuated version of the first oscillating signal,which corresponds to the voltage taken between the first and secondnodes. The second oscillating signal may be an attenuated version of thefirst oscillating signal in the sense that the amplitude of the secondoscillating signal is proportional to, but less than, the firstoscillating signal.

In examples where the oscillating signals are single-ended signals, thefirst oscillating signal may, in some examples, correspond to a voltagebetween one of the nodes of oscillator 12 and a reference voltage, andthe second oscillating signal may, in such examples, correspond to avoltage between one of the taps of oscillator 12 and the referencevoltage. In some examples, the first node may be coupled to a groundrail or a power rail and serve as a reference voltage. In such examples,the first oscillating signal may, in some examples, correspond to avoltage between the first node and the second node, and the secondoscillating signal may, in such examples, correspond to a voltagebetween one of the taps and the first node.

The portion of the one or more reactive components between the tap andthe first node may be a subset of the portion of the reactive componentsbetween the first and second nodes. Thus, the reactance (e.g.,inductance or capacitance) between the tap and the first node may beless than the reactance between the first and second nodes. Accordingly,the second oscillating signal, which corresponds to the voltage takenbetween the tap and the first node, may be an attenuated version of thefirst oscillating signal, which corresponds to the voltage taken betweenthe first and second nodes.

Oscillator 12 may generate the first and second oscillating signalsbased on a control signal. For example, oscillator 12 may be avoltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and the control signal may be avoltage signal. In some cases, transmitter 10 may generate the controlsignal based on data to be transmitted. In such examples, oscillator 12may use the control signal to frequency modulate and/or phase modulatethe oscillating signals at the first and second outputs of oscillator 12based on the data to be transmitted. In other words, in such examples,each of the oscillating signals may be frequency-modulated (FM) orphase-modulated (PM) signal. In some examples, the oscillating signalsmay be voltage signals.

In some examples, power amplifier 14 may include a single amplifiersignal chain. In such examples, to generate the power-amplified outputsignal, power amplifier 14 may select one of the oscillating signals,amplify the selected one of the oscillating signals with the singleamplifier signal chain, and output the amplified version of the selectedone of the oscillating signals as the power-amplified output signal.

In further examples, power amplifier 14 may include multiple amplifiersignal chains. In such examples, to generate the power-amplified outputsignal, power amplifier 14 may amplify each of the oscillating signalswith a respective amplifier signal chain, and select one of theamplified versions of the oscillating signals to output as thepower-amplified output signal.

The gain control signal may control the gain of power amplifier 14. Insome examples, power amplifier 14 may include a selection unit thatselects one of the oscillating signals output by oscillator 12 or anamplified version of one of the oscillating signals to use in generatingthe power-amplified output signal. In such examples, the gain controlsignal may be coupled to a control input of the selection unit, and theselection unit may select one of the signals based on the gain controlsignal.

In some examples, the gain control signal may include multiple signalcomponents. For example, the gain control signal may include a firstgain control signal component and a second gain control signalcomponent. The first gain control signal component may be coupled to thecontrol input of a selection unit and control the gain (e.g.,attenuation) provided by the selection unit, and the second gain controlsignal component may be coupled to one or more amplifier stages in poweramplifier 14 and control the gain provided by the one or more amplifierstages.

Power amplifier 14 may be either a single stage amplifier or amulti-stage amplifier. A single stage amplifier may have a singleamplifier stage, and a multi-stage amplifier may have multiple amplifierstages. In examples where power amplifier 14 is a multi-stage amplifierand the gain control signal includes a gain control signal componentthat is coupled to the amplifier stages, the gain control signalcomponent may include multiple gain control signal subcomponents thatare each coupled to respective stages of the multi-stage amplifier. Eachof the gain control signal subcomponents may adjust and control the gainof a respective one of the stages in the multi-stage amplifier. In suchexamples, the gain of each of the gain stages in the multi-stageamplifier may be independently adjusted.

In examples where power amplifier 14 includes multiple amplifier signalchains, each of the amplifier signal chains may be either a single stageamplifier signal chain or a multi-stage amplifier signal chain. Inexamples where the multiple amplifier signal chains are multi-stageamplifier signal chains, corresponding amplifier stages in each of theamplifier signal chains may, in some examples, be controlled based onthe same gain control signal subcomponent of the gain control signal. Inother examples, the gain of corresponding amplifier stages may beindependently programmable.

In additional examples, power amplifier 14 may be a multi-stageamplifier where each of the stages includes a single-ended ordifferential self-biased amplifier. Each of the stages may further havean independently adjustable power rail voltage. Adjusting the power railvoltage for a particular amplifier stage may cause the self-biasedamplifier in that stage to bias at a different bias current, which mayin turn adjust the gain of the self-biased amplifier. Therefore, byusing independently adjustable power rail voltages for the differentself-biased amplifier stages, a multi-stage power amplifier withstage-independent gain adjustment may be achieved with a relativelysmall number of circuit components.

In some examples, the adjustable power rail voltages may be supplied byone or more adjustable power supplies. For example, the adjustable powersupplies may be adjustable voltage regulators, such as, e.g., adjustablelow-dropout regulators (LDOs). A voltage regulator and/or LDO may beadjustable in the sense that the regulator and/or LDO may output avoltage level that is determined based on a control input.

In examples where one or more of the amplifier stages in power amplifier14 are powered by one or more adjustable power supplies, the controlinputs for each of the adjustable power supplies may be coupled torespective gain control signal subcomponents of the gain control signal.In such examples, the amplifier stages may be configured to have gainsthat are determined based on the power supply output level (e.g.,voltage level).

In examples where the gain control signal includes multiple signalcomponents, power amplifier 14 may be said to include multiple gaincontrols. For example, power amplifier 14 may include a coarse gaincontrol that controls the selection of which of the oscillating signalsto use for generating the power-amplified output signal, and a fine gaincontrol that controls the gain of one or more of the amplifier stages ina multi-stage amplifier that amplifies the selected oscillator voltage.The fine gain control may, in some examples, provide a continuous gaincontrol function, but the range of gain values over which the gaincontrol function is linear may be relatively small. Meanwhile, thecoarse gain control function may be linear over a relatively large rangeof gain values, but may be a discrete function with discrete gain steps.

Providing both coarse and fine gain control may allow the gain of poweramplifier 14 to be finely tuned over a wide range of gain values. Inthis way, a power amplifier may be achieved that has relatively highprecision gain control over a relatively large range of output powersettings.

In some examples, one or more of the amplifier stages in power amplifier14 may be a differential, self-biased amplifier stage. The differentialself-biased amplifier stage may include a first variable resistancecoupled between the power supply and the source terminals of one or morepull-up transistors, and a second variable resistance coupled betweenthe ground rail and the source terminals of one or more pull-downtransistors.

Increasing the variable resistances may increase the even-order harmonicsuppression of the amplifier stage, but decrease the gain of theamplifier stage. Decreasing the variable resistances may have theopposite effect. As such, by positioning variable resistances at theabove-described locations in the differential, self-biased amplifier,the tradeoff between even-order harmonic suppression and amplifier gainmay be dynamically adjusted and balanced in power amplifier 14.

In some examples, power amplifier 14 may include a differential,self-biased amplifier stage with one or more variable resistances asdescribed in the previous example where the amplifier stage is alsopowered by an adjustable power supply (e.g., an adjustable LDO). In suchexamples, a coarse gain control may be coupled to the variableresistances and a fine gain control may be coupled to the adjustablepower supply.

In further examples, one or more of the amplifier stages in poweramplifier 14 may be configurable to operate in a self-biased mode and anon-linear mode. The self-biased mode may provide a greater degree oflinearity than the non-linear mode, but may be less power efficient. Onthe other hand, the non-linear mode may be more power efficient, butprovide less linearity. By providing an amplifier stage that may beconfigurable to operate in a self-biased mode and a non-linear mode, thetradeoff between linearity and power efficiency may be dynamicallyadjusted and balanced in power amplifier 14.

Matching network 16 may include any components that are configured toprovide impedance matching between the power amplifier 14 and antenna18. In some examples, matching network 16 may include one or moreinductors or capacitors configured to cause the output impedance ofmatching network 16 to match the impedance of antenna 18, and to causethe input impedance of matching network 16 to match the output impedanceof power amplifier 14. Antenna 18 may be any type of antenna that isconfigured to transmit electromagnetic signals to a remote device.

Power amplifier 14 may selectively amplify the oscillating signalsoutput by oscillator 12 to generate a power-amplified output signal.Each of the oscillating signals may correspond to a different voltagethat occurs across a different portion of a network of reactivecomponents included in oscillator 12. Selectively amplifying differentvoltages that occur across different portions of a network of reactivecomponents oscillator 12 may allow the gain of power amplifier 14 to beadjusted, which may in turn allow the output power of power amplifier 14to be adjusted based on dynamic power requirements of transmitter 10.Allowing the output power of power amplifier 14 to be adjusted based ondynamic power requirements may allow the overall power consumption ofpower amplifier 14 to be reduced. By using one or more taps of a networkof reactive components included in oscillator 12 to obtain the differentvoltages that are selectively amplified by power amplifier 14, theamount of components needed to obtain the different voltages may bereduced. In this way, a variable gain, relatively low-power amplifiermay be obtained with a relatively small number of components.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example transmitter 10 of FIG. 1 inwhich an example oscillator 12 is illustrated in further detailaccording to this disclosure. In FIG. 2, the first and second outputs ofoscillator 12 are single-ended outputs that generate single-ended outputsignals. Oscillator 12 includes oscillator circuitry 32, which includesa reactive component network 34. Reactive component network 34 includesa node 36 connected to a first end of reactive component network 34 anda node 38 connected to the second end of reactive component network 34.Reactive component network 34 also includes a tap 40 that is coupled tothe reactive components in reactive component network 34 between thefirst and second ends of reactive component network 34.

Node 38 is coupled to the first input of power amplifier 14 via lead 42,and tap 40 is coupled to the second input of power amplifier 14 via lead44. Node 38 may be coupled to and/or form the first output of oscillator12, and tap 40 may be coupled to and/or form the second output ofoscillator 12. Leads 42, 44 in FIG. 2 may correspond, respectively, toconnections 20, 22 in FIG. 1.

During operation, oscillator 12 generates a first oscillating signal atthe first output of oscillator 12 and a second oscillating signal at thesecond output of oscillator 12. The second oscillating signal may be anattenuated version of the first oscillating signal. In some examples,the first oscillating signal may correspond to a voltage between node 38and a reference voltage, and the second oscillating signal maycorrespond to a voltage between tap 40 and the reference voltage. Infurther examples, node 36 may be coupled to a ground rail or a powerrail and serve as a reference voltage. In such examples, the firstoscillating signal may correspond to a voltage between node 36 and node38, and the second oscillating signal may correspond to a voltagebetween tap 40 and node 36.

In some examples, transmitter 10 of FIG. 2 may be implemented on anintegrated circuit. The integrated circuit may include an oscillator 12having a node 36, a node 38, and a reactive component network 34 (i.e.,a network of one or more reactive components) coupled between node 36and node 38. The reactive component network 34 may have at least one tap40 between node 36 and node 38. Oscillator 12 may further include afirst output coupled to reactive component network 34 via node 38, and asecond output coupled to reactive component network 34 via tap 40. Theintegrated circuit may further include a power amplifier 14 having afirst input coupled to the first output of oscillator 12, and a secondinput coupled to the second output of oscillator 12, and an output.

In some examples, node 36 of oscillator 12 is at least one of a powerrail or a ground rail for oscillator 12. In such examples, reactivecomponent network 34 includes, in some examples, one or more inductorscoupled in series between node 36 and node 38 of oscillator 12. In suchexamples, tap 40 is coupled to the one or more inductors, and aninductance between node 36 and node 38 of oscillator 12 is greater thanan inductance between tap 40 of reactive component network 34 and node36 of oscillator 12.

In additional examples where node 36 of oscillator 12 is at least one ofa power rail or a ground rail for oscillator 12, reactive componentnetwork 34 includes one or more capacitors coupled in series betweennode 36 and node 38 of oscillator 12. In such examples, tap 40 iscoupled to the one or more capacitors, and a capacitance between node 36and node 38 of oscillator 12 is greater than a capacitance between tap40 of reactive component network 34 and node 36 of oscillator 12.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the example transmitter 10 of FIG. 1 inwhich another example oscillator 12 is illustrated in further detailaccording to this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, oscillator 12 includesoscillator circuitry 52 that is similar to oscillator circuitry 32 ofFIG. 2 except that: (1) node 36 is coupled to power amplifier 14 vialead 56, (2) reactive component network 34 includes an additional tap 54between nodes 36, 38, and (3) tap 54 is coupled to power amplifier 14via lead 58. Same or similar components between oscillator circuitry 32of FIG. 2 and oscillator circuitry 52 of FIG. 3 have been numbered withidentical reference numerals.

In FIG. 3, the first and second outputs of oscillator 12 aredifferential outputs that generate differential output signals.Specifically, nodes 36, 38 may form a first differential output, andtaps 40, 54 may form a second differential output. Similarly, the firstand second inputs of power amplifier 14 may be differential inputs. Thefirst differential output of oscillator 12 is coupled to the firstdifferential input of power amplifier 14 via leads 42, 56. The seconddifferential output of oscillator 12 is coupled to the seconddifferential input of power amplifier 14 via leads 44, 58. Leads 42, 56in FIG. 3 may collectively correspond to connection 20 in FIG. 1.Similarly, leads 44, 58 in FIG. 3 may collectively correspond toconnection 22 in FIG. 1.

During operation, oscillator 12 generates a first differentialoscillating signal at the first output of oscillator 12 and a seconddifferential oscillating signal at the second output of oscillator 12.The second differential oscillating signal may be an attenuated versionof the first differential oscillating signal. The first differentialoscillating signal may correspond to a voltage between node 36 and node38, and the second differential oscillating signal may correspond to avoltage between tap 54 and tap 40 of reactive component network 34.

In some examples, transmitter 10 of FIG. 3 may be implemented on anintegrated circuit. The integrated circuit may include an oscillator 12having a node 36, a node 38, and a reactive component network 34 coupledbetween node 36 and node 38. Reactive component network 34 may have taps40, 54 between node 36 and node 38. Oscillator 12 may further include afirst output coupled to reactive component network 34 via nodes 36, 38,and a second output coupled to reactive component network 34 via taps40, 54. The integrated circuit may further include a power amplifier 14having a first input coupled to the first output of oscillator 12, asecond input coupled to the second output of oscillator 12, and anoutput.

In some examples, reactive component network 34 may have taps 40, 54coupled between node 36 and node 38. In such examples, the first outputof oscillator 12 is a first differential output having a first terminalcoupled to reactive component network 34 via node 36, and a secondterminal coupled to reactive component network 34 via node 38. In suchexamples, the second output of the VCO is a second differential outputhaving a first terminal coupled to reactive component network 34 via tap54, and a second terminal coupled to reactive component network 34 viatap 40.

In further examples, reactive component network 34 includes one or moreinductors coupled in series between node 36 and node 38 of oscillator12, and taps 40, 54 are coupled to the one or more inductors. In suchexamples, an inductance between the first and second terminals of thefirst differential output of oscillator 12 is greater than an inductancebetween the first and second terminals of the second differential outputof oscillator 12.

In additional examples, reactive component network 34 includes one ormore capacitors coupled in series between node 36 and node 38 ofoscillator 12, and taps 40, 54 are coupled to the one or morecapacitors. In such examples, a capacitance between the first and secondterminals of the first differential output of oscillator 12 is greaterthan a capacitance between the first and second terminals of the seconddifferential output of oscillator 12.

In the transmitters 10 of FIGS. 2 and 3, oscillator 12 may outputmultiple oscillating signals, and power amplifier 14 may selectivelyamplify the oscillating signals to generate the power-amplified outputsignal. Each of the oscillating signals may correspond to a differentvoltage that occurs across a different portion of a network of reactivecomponents included in oscillator 12. Selectively amplifying differentvoltages that occur across different portions of a network of reactivecomponents in oscillator 12 may allow the gain of power amplifier 14 tobe adjusted, which may in turn allow the output power of power amplifier14 to be adjusted based on dynamic power requirements of transmitter 10.Allowing the output power of power amplifier 14 to be adjusted based ondynamic power requirements may allow the overall power consumption ofpower amplifier 14 to be reduced. By using one or more taps of a networkof reactive components included in oscillator 12 to obtain the differentvoltages that are selectively amplified by power amplifier 14, theamount of components needed to obtain the different voltages may bereduced. In this way, a variable gain, relatively low-power amplifiermay be obtained with a relatively small number of components.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the example transmitter 10 of FIG. 1 inwhich an example power amplifier 14 is illustrated in further detailaccording to this disclosure. Power amplifier 14 includes a selectioncircuit 60, amplifier stages 62, 64, adjustable power sources 66, 68,connections 70, 72, power lines 74, 76, and gain control leads 78, 80,82. A first input of selection circuit 60 is coupled to the first outputof oscillator 12 via connection 20. A second input of selection circuit60 is coupled to the second output of oscillator 12 via connection 22.An output of selection circuit 60 is coupled to an input of amplifierstage 62 via connection 70. An output of amplifier stage 62 is coupledto an input of amplifier stage 64 via connection 72. An output ofamplifier stage 64 is coupled to the input of matching network 16 viaconnection 24.

The output of amplifier stage 64 may be coupled to and/or form theoutput of power amplifier 14. The first and second inputs of selectioncircuit 60 may be coupled to and/or form, respectively, the first andsecond inputs of power amplifier 14.

An output of adjustable power source 66 is coupled to a power input ofamplifier stage 62 via power line 74. An output of adjustable powersource 68 is coupled to a power input of amplifier stage 64 via powerline 76. A control input of selection circuit 60 is coupled to a gaincontrol A lead 78. A control input of amplifier stage 62 is coupled to again control B lead 80. A control input of amplifier stage 64 is coupledto a gain control C lead 82. Gain control leads 78, 80, 82 maycollectively correspond to gain control lead 26 illustrated in FIGS.1-3.

Connections 20, 22, 24, 28, 70, 72 may be single-ended or differentialconnections. When connections 20, 22 are single-ended connections,oscillator 12 may, in some examples, correspond to oscillator 12 in FIG.2, and connections 20, 22 may correspond to leads 42, 44 of FIG. 2. Whenoscillator 12 connections 20, 22 are differential connections,oscillator 12 may, in some examples, correspond to oscillator 12 in FIG.3, and connections 20, 22 may correspond to leads 42, 44, 56, 58 of FIG.3.

During operation, selection circuit 60 receives oscillating signals fromoscillator 12 via connections 20, 22, respectively, selects one of theoscillating signals to use for generating the power-amplified signalbased on the gain control A signal, and outputs the selected signal onconnection 70. Amplifier stage 62 receives the selected signal viaconnection 70, amplifies the selected signal with a gain that isdetermined by the gain control B signal, and outputs the amplifiedsignal on connection 72. Amplifier stage 64 receives the amplifiedsignal from amplifier stage 62 via connection 72, amplifies the signalwith a gain that is determined by the gain control C signal, and outputsthe amplified signal as the powered-amplified signal for power amplifier14 at connection 24.

Adjustable power source 66 may power amplifier stage 62 via power line74. Similarly, adjustable power source 68 may power amplifier stage 64via power line 76. Adjustable power source 66 may generate an outputpower level (e.g., voltage level) based on the gain control B signal,and adjustable power source 68 may generate an output power level (e.g.,voltage level) based on the gain control C signal. In some examples, oneor both of adjustable power sources 66, 68 may be an adjustable voltageregulator, such as, e.g., an adjustable LDO. Amplifier stage 62 mayamplify the selected signal based on a gain that is determined by theoutput power level produced by adjustable power source 66. Amplifierstage 64 may amplify the input signal of amplifier stage 64 based on again that is determined by the output power level produced by adjustablepower source 68.

As shown in FIG. 4, power amplifier 14 includes a selection circuit 60having: (1) a first input coupled to the first input of power amplifier14, (2) a second input coupled to the second input of power amplifier14, and (3) an output. Power amplifier 14 further includes an amplifierstage 62 having: (1) an input coupled to the output of selection circuit60, and (2) an output. Power amplifier 14 further includes an amplifierstage 64 having: (1) an input coupled to the output of amplifier stage62, and (2) an output. Selection circuit 60 has a control input coupledto gain control A lead 78.

Amplifier stages 62, 64 may be implemented with any combination of theamplifier stages described in this disclosure or with other types ofamplifier stages. In some examples, amplifier stage 62 may beimplemented with the amplifier stage illustrated in FIG. 13, andamplifier stage 64 may be implemented with the amplifier stageillustrated in FIG. 14.

In some examples, each of the amplifier stages 62, 64 in power amplifier14 may include a single-ended or differential self-biased amplifier(e.g., a self-biased inverter). Each of the amplifier stages 62, 64 mayfurther have an independently adjustable power rail voltage that isprovided, respectively, by adjustable power sources 66, 68. Adjustingthe power rail voltage for a particular amplifier stage may cause theself-biased amplifier in that stage to bias at a different bias current,which may in turn adjust the gain of the self-biased amplifier.Therefore, by using independently adjustable power rail voltages for thedifferent self-biased amplifier stages, a multi-stage power amplifierwith stage-independent gain adjustment may be achieved with a relativelysmall number of circuit components.

In some examples, the gain control A signal may be a coarse gain controlthat controls the selection of which of the oscillator voltages to usefor generating the power-amplified output signal. In such examples, thegain control B signal and the gain control C signal may collectivelyform a fine gain control that controls the gain of amplifier stages 62,64 in multi-stage power amplifier 14. The fine gain control may, in someexamples, provide a continuous gain control function, but the range ofgain values over which the gain control function is linear may berelatively small. Meanwhile, the coarse gain control function may belinear over a relatively large range of gain values, but may be adiscrete function with discrete gain steps.

Providing both coarse and fine gain control may allow the gain of apower amplifier to be finely tuned over a wide range of gain values. Inthis way, a power amplifier may be achieved that has relatively highprecision gain control over a relatively large range of output powersettings.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the example transmitter 10 of FIG. 1 inwhich another example power amplifier 14 is illustrated in furtherdetail according to this disclosure. Power amplifier 14 includesamplifier stages 84, 86, 88, 90, a selection circuit 92, adjustablepower sources 94, 96, connections 98, 100, 102, 104, power lines 106,108, 110, 112, and gain control leads 114, 116, 118.

An input of amplifier stage 84 is coupled to the first output ofoscillator 12 via connection 20. An output of amplifier stage 84 iscoupled to an input of amplifier stage 86 via connection 98. An outputof amplifier stage 86 is coupled to a first input of selection circuit92 via connection 100. An input of amplifier stage 88 is coupled to thesecond output of oscillator 12 via connection 22. An output of amplifierstage 88 is coupled to an input of amplifier stage 90 via connection102. An output of amplifier stage 90 is coupled to a second input ofselection circuit 92 via connection 104. An output of selection circuit92 is coupled to the input of matching network 16 via connection 24.

The output of selection circuit 92 may be coupled to and/or form theoutput of power amplifier 14. The input of amplifier stage 84 may becoupled to and/or form the first input of power amplifier 14. Similarly,the input of amplifier stage 88 may be coupled to and/or form the secondinput of power amplifier 14.

An output of adjustable power source 94 is coupled to a power input ofamplifier stage 84 via power line 106. The output of adjustable powersource 94 is also coupled to a power input of amplifier stage 88 viapower lines 106, 110. An output of adjustable power source 96 is coupledto a power input of amplifier stage 86 via power line 108. The output ofadjustable power source 96 is also coupled to a power input of amplifierstage 90 via power lines 108, 112. A control input of selection circuit92 is coupled to a gain control A lead 114. A control input ofadjustable power source 94 is coupled to a gain control B lead 116. Acontrol input of adjustable power source 96 is coupled to a gain controlC lead 118. Gain control leads 114, 116, 118 may collectively correspondto gain control lead 26 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

Connections 20, 22, 24, 28, 98, 100, 102, 104 may be single-ended ordifferential connections. When connections 20, 22 are single-endedconnections, oscillator 12 may, in some examples, correspond tooscillator 12 in FIG. 2, and connections 20, 22 may correspond to leads42, 44 of FIG. 2. When oscillator 12 connections 20, 22 are differentialconnections, oscillator 12 may, in some examples, correspond tooscillator 12 in FIG. 3, and connections 20, 22 may correspond to leads42, 44, 56, 58 of FIG. 3.

During operation, amplifier stage 84 receives a first oscillating signalvia the first input, amplifies the first oscillating signal to generatea first amplified signal, and outputs the first amplified signal viaconnection 98. Amplifier stage 86 receives the first amplified signalvia connection 98, amplifies the first amplified signal to generate asecond amplified signal, and outputs the second amplified signal viaconnection 100. Amplifier stage 86 receives the second oscillatingsignal via the second input, amplifies the second oscillating signal togenerate a third amplified signal, and outputs the third amplifiedsignal via connection 102. Amplifier stage 86 receives the firstamplified signal via connection 102, amplifies the third amplifiedsignal to generate a fourth amplified signal, and outputs the fourthamplified signal via connection 104. Selection circuit 92 receives thethird and fourth amplified signals via connection 100 and connection104, respectively, selects one of the third and fourth amplified signalsto use for generating the power-amplified signal based on the gaincontrol A signal, and outputs the selected signal via connection 24.

Amplifier stages 84, 86 may form a first amplifier signal chain, andamplifier stages 88, 90 may form a second amplifier signal chain. Thefirst amplifier signal chain may amplify the oscillating signal receivedat connection 20, the second amplifier signal chain may amplify theoscillating signal received at connection 22, and selection circuit 92may select which of the amplified signals to output as thepower-amplified signal.

Adjustable power source 94 may power amplifier stages 84, 88 via powerlines 106, 110. Similarly, adjustable power source 96 may poweramplifier stages 86, 90 via power lines 108, 112. Adjustable powersource 94 may generate an output power level (e.g., voltage level) basedon the gain control B signal, and adjustable power source 96 maygenerate an output power level (e.g., voltage level) based on the gaincontrol C signal. In some examples, one or more of adjustable powersources 94, 96 may be an adjustable and/or programmable voltageregulator, such as, e.g., an adjustable and/or programmable LDO.Amplifier stages 84, 88 may amplify their respective input signals basedon a gain that is determined by the output power level produced byadjustable power source 94. Similarly, amplifier stages 86, 90 mayamplify their respective input signals based on a gain that isdetermined by the output power level produced by adjustable power source96.

As shown in FIG. 5, power amplifier 14 includes a first signal chainhaving amplifier stages 84, 86. Amplifier stage 84 has: (1) an inputcoupled to the first input of power amplifier 14, and (2) an output.Amplifier stage 86 has: (1) an input coupled to the output of amplifierstage 84 of the first signal chain, and (2) an output. Power amplifier14 further includes a second signal chain having amplifier stages 88,90. Amplifier stage 88 has: (1) an input coupled to the second input ofthe power amplifier, and (2) an output. Amplifier stage 90 has: (1) aninput coupled to the output of first amplifier stage 88 of the secondsignal chain, and (2) an output.

Power amplifier 14 further includes a selection circuit 92 having: (1) afirst input coupled to the output of the amplifier stage 86 of the firstsignal chain, (2) a second input coupled to the output of the amplifierstage 90 of the second signal chain, and (3) an output that forms theoutput of power amplifier 14. Selection circuit 92 has a control inputcoupled to gain control A lead 114.

Amplifier stages 84, 86, 88, 90 may be implemented with any combinationof the amplifier stages described in this disclosure or with otheramplifier stages. In some examples, amplifier stages 84, 88 may beimplemented with the amplifier stage illustrated in FIG. 13, andamplifier stages 86, 90 may be implemented with the amplifier stageillustrated in FIG. 14.

In some examples, each of amplifier stages 84, 86, 88, 90 in poweramplifier 14 may include a single-ended or differential self-biasedamplifier (e.g., a self-biased inverter). Each of amplifier stages 84,86, 88, 90 may further have an independently adjustable power railvoltage that is provided by adjustable power sources 94, 96. Adjustingthe power rail voltage for a particular amplifier stage may cause theself-biased amplifier in that stage to bias at a different bias current,which may in turn adjust the gain of the self-biased amplifier.Therefore, by using independently adjustable power rail voltages for thedifferent self-biased amplifier stages, a multi-stage power amplifierwith stage-independent gain adjustment may be achieved with a relativelysmall number of circuit components.

In some examples, the gain control A signal may be a coarse gain controlthat controls the selection of which of the oscillator voltages to usefor generating the power-amplified output signal. In such examples, thegain control B signal and the gain control C signal may collectivelyform a fine gain control that controls the gain of amplifier stages 84,86, 88, 90 in the multi-stage power amplifier 14. The fine gain controlmay, in some examples, provide a continuous gain control function, butthe range of gain values over which the gain control function is linearmay be relatively small. Meanwhile, the coarse gain control function maybe linear over a relatively large range of gain values, but may be adiscrete function with discrete gain steps.

Providing both coarse and fine gain control may allow the gain of apower amplifier to be finely tuned over a wide range of gain values. Inthis way, a power amplifier may be achieved that has relatively highprecision gain control over a relatively large range of output powersettings.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example reactive componentnetwork 34 that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure. In some examples, reactive component network 34 may be usedto implement the reactive component network 34 illustrated in FIG. 3.Reactive component network 34 includes inductors L1, L2, L3, L4 andnodes 36, 38, 120, 122, 124. Inductor L1 is coupled between node 36 andnode 120. Inductor L2 is coupled between node 120 and node 122. InductorL3 is coupled between node 122 and node 124. Inductor L4 is coupledbetween node 124 and node 38.

A tap 54 is coupled to node 120, and a tap 40 is coupled to a node 124.Nodes 36, 38 may form a first differential output, and taps 54, 40 mayform a second differential output.

As shown in FIG. 6, taps 54, 40 are coupled to nodes 120, 124 betweennodes 36, 38. As such, an inductance between node 36 and node 38 isgreater than an inductance between tap 54 and tap 40 of reactivecomponent network 34, thereby causing the voltage between tap 54 and tap40 to be proportional to, but less than the voltage between node 36 andnode 38.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example oscillator 12 thatincorporates the example reactive component network 34 of FIG. 6according to this disclosure. Oscillator 12 includes transistors 126,128, a ground rail 130, a high voltage rail 132, and the reactivecomponent network 34 shown in FIG. 6. A source of transistor 126 iscoupled to ground rail 130. A drain of transistor 126 is coupled to node36 and to a gate of transistor 128. A gate of transistor 126 is coupledto node 38 and to a drain of transistor 128. A source of transistor 128is coupled to ground rail 130. A drain of transistor 128 is coupled tonode 38 and to a gate of transistor 126. A gate of transistor 128 iscoupled to node 36 and to a drain of transistor 126. Node 122 ofreactive component network 34 is coupled to high voltage rail 132.

Transistors 126, 128 may be examples of cross-coupled transistors wherethe outputs of the cross-coupled transistors are coupled to nodes 36,38. Nodes 36, 38 form a first differential output for oscillator 12, andtaps 40, 54 form a second differential output for oscillator 12. In FIG.7, inductors L1, L2, L3, L4 are an example of a configuration of one ormore inductors coupled in series between the node 36 and node 38 ofoscillator 12.

During operation, transistors 126, 128 may each operate as a commonsource amplifier with a reactive load. Inductors L1, L2, L3, L4 may formall or part of the reactive loads for transistors 126, 128.Specifically, transistor 126 may amplify and apply a 180 degree phaseshift to the signal at the drain of transistor 128, and transistor 128may amplify and apply a 180 degree phase shift to the signal at thedrain of transistor 126. The feedback loop formed by the cross-coupledoscillators may collectively cause the signals at the two differentialoutputs at nodes 36, 38 to oscillate. The inductances of inductors L1,L2, L3, L4 along with one or more parasitic capacitances in transistors126, 128 may control the frequency of oscillation for oscillator 12.

The second differential output of oscillator 12 formed by taps 40, 54may provide an oscillating output signal that is proportional to, butless than, the output signal provided by the first differential outputof oscillator 12 formed by nodes 36, 38. The gain of a power amplifiermay be able to be varied by selecting which of these voltages toamplify. By using one or more taps of a network of reactive components(e.g., inductors L1, L2, L3, L4) included in oscillator 12 to outputdifferent voltages voltage levels, the gain of a power amplifier may beable to be varied without requiring additional reactive components inthe power amplifier or external to the an integrated circuit. In thisway, a variable gain, relatively low-power amplifier may be obtainedwith a relatively small number of components.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network 34 that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure. Reactive component network 34 includes inductors L5, L6, L7,L8, L9, L10, nodes 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 146, and taps 148, 150,152, 154. Inductor L5 is coupled between node 134 and node 136. InductorL6 is coupled between node 136 and node 138. Inductor L7 is coupledbetween node 138 and node 140. Inductor L8 is coupled between node 140and node 142. Inductor L9 is coupled between node 142 and node 144.Inductor L10 is coupled between node 144 and node 146. In FIG. 8,inductors L5, L6, L7, L8, L9, L10 are an example of a configuration ofone or more inductors coupled in series between node 134 and node 146 ofoscillator 12.

Tap 148 is coupled to node 136. Tap 150 is coupled to node 138. Tap 152is coupled to node 142. Tap 154 is coupled to node 144.

Nodes 134, 146 may form a first differential output, taps 136, 144 mayform a second differential output, and taps 138, 142 may form a thirddifferential output. The second differential output may output anoscillating signal that is proportional to, but less than, the signaloutput by the first and differential output. The third differentialoutput may output an oscillating signal that is proportional to, butless than, the signals output by the first and second differentialoutputs. In general, any number of taps may be placed in a series ofinductors connected in series to form any number of differentialoutputs, and thereby provide any number of gain steps for a poweramplifier according to this disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an example reactive component andswitching circuit 156 that may be used in the example transmitters ofthis disclosure. In some examples, reactive component network 34 may beused to implement reactive component network 34 shown in FIG. 3 and/orselection circuit 60 shown in FIG. 4. Reactive component and switchingcircuit 156 includes inductors L11, L12, L13, switches S1, S2, S3, S4,and nodes 158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168.

Inductor L11 is coupled between node 158 and node 160. Inductor L12 iscoupled between node 160 and node 162. Inductor L13 is coupled betweennode 162 and node 164. Switch S1 is coupled between node 158 and node166. Switch S2 is coupled between node 160 and node 166. Switch S3 iscoupled between node 162 and node 168. Switch S4 is coupled between node164 and node 168.

Nodes 158, 164 may form a differential input. Nodes 166, 168 may form adifferential output.

In some examples, inductors L11, L12, L13 and nodes 158, 160, 162, 164may be included in a reactive component network 34 of oscillator 12(e.g., FIG. 3), and switches S1, S2, S3, S4 may be included in aselection circuit 60 of power amplifier 14 (e.g., FIG. 4). In suchexamples, nodes 158, 164 may correspond, respectively, to nodes 36, 38,and nodes 166, 168 may correspond to the output of selection circuit 60.In such examples, control inputs of switches S1, S2, S3, S4 may becoupled to gain control A lead 78.

During operation a control circuit may selectively open and closeswitches S1, S2, S3, S4 based on a gain control signal. During a firstoperational state, switches S1, S4 may be closed and switches S2, S3 maybe open, thereby causing the voltage between nodes 158, 164 to be outputat nodes 166, 168. During a second operational state, switches S2, S3may be closed and switches S1, S4 may be open, thereby causing thevoltage between node 160 and node 162 to be output at nodes 166, 168.

In some examples, inductors L11, L12, L13 may form a tapped inductor.The tapped inductor along with switches S1, S2, S3, S4 may provide again step between a VCO and a PA. In some examples, inductors L11, L12,L13 may be implemented with an inductor inside of a VCO core, andswitches S1, S2, S3, S4 may provide the attenuator steps.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network 34 that may be used in the example oscillators of thisdisclosure. Reactive component network 34 includes capacitors C1, C2,C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, switches S5, S6, nodes 170, 172, 174, 176, 178,180, 182, 184, 186, 188 and taps 190, 192, 194, 196. Capacitor C1 iscoupled between node 170 and node 172. Capacitor C2 is coupled betweennode 172 and node 174. Capacitor C3 is coupled between node 178 and node180. Capacitor C4 is coupled between node 176 and node 178. Capacitor C5is coupled between node 172 and node 182. Capacitor C6 is coupledbetween node 178 and node 186. Capacitor C7 is coupled between node 174and node 184. Capacitor C8 is coupled between node 176 and node 188.Switch S5 is coupled between node 182 and node 186. Switch S6 is coupledbetween node 184 and node 188. Tap 190 is coupled to node 172, tap 192is coupled to node 174, tap 194 is coupled to node 176, and tap 196 iscoupled to node 178.

Node 170 and node 180 may form the ends of reactive component network 34and may correspond to a first differential output of reactive componentnetwork 34. Taps 190, 196 may form a second differential output ofreactive component network 34, and taps 192, 194 may form a thirddifferential output of reactive component network 34.

As shown in FIG. 10, taps 192, 194 are coupled to reactive componentnetwork 34 between taps 190, 196 and between nodes 170, 180. Similarly,taps 190, 196 are coupled to reactive component network 34 between nodes170, 180. As such, a capacitance between nodes 170, 180 is greater thana capacitance between taps 190, 196 (when one of switches S5, S6 isclosed), thereby causing the voltage between taps 190, 196 to beproportional to, but less than, the voltage between nodes 170, 180.Similarly, a capacitance between nodes 170, 180 is greater than acapacitance between taps 190, 196 (when switch S6 is closed), which isgreater than a capacitance between taps 192, 194 (when switch S6 isclosed), thereby causing the voltage between taps 192, 194 to beproportional to, but less than, the voltage between taps 190, 196 andthe voltage between nodes 170, 180.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example oscillator 12that incorporates the example reactive component network 34 of FIG. 10according to this disclosure. Oscillator 12 includes transistors 198,200, inductors L14, L15, a ground rail 202, a high voltage rail 204, anode 206 and the reactive component network 34 shown in FIG. 10. Asource of transistor 198 is coupled to ground rail 202. A drain oftransistor 198 is coupled to node 170 and to a gate of transistor 200. Agate of transistor 198 is coupled to node 180 and to a drain oftransistor 200. A source of transistor 200 is coupled to ground rail202. A drain of transistor 200 is coupled to node 180 and to a gate oftransistor 198. A gate of transistor 200 is coupled to node 170 and to adrain of transistor 198. Inductor L14 is coupled between node 170 andnode 206. Inductor L15 is coupled between node 206 and node 180. Node206 is coupled to high voltage rail 204.

Transistors 198, 200 may be examples of cross-coupled transistors wherethe outputs of the cross-coupled transistors are coupled to nodes 36,38. Switches S5, S6 may include control inputs that are coupled to acontrol circuit. In FIG. 11, when one of switches S5, S6 are closed, thecapacitances between node 170 and node 180 may be an example of aconfiguration of one or more capacitors coupled in series between thenode 170 and node 180 of oscillator 12.

During operation, transistors 198, 200 may each operate as a commonsource amplifier with a reactive load. Capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5,C6, C7, C8 and inductors L14, L15 may form all or part of the reactiveloads for transistors 198, 200. Specifically, transistor 198 may amplifyand apply a 180 degree phase shift to the signal at the drain oftransistor 200, and transistor 200 may amplify and apply a 180 degreephase shift to the signal at the drain of transistor 198. The feedbackloop formed by the cross-coupled oscillators may collectively cause thesignals at the two differential outputs at nodes 170, 180 to oscillate.The inductances of inductors L14, L15 along with the capacitances of oneor more of capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8 (and, in someexamples, one or more parasitic capacitances in transistors 198, 200)may control the frequency of oscillation for oscillator 12.

Switches S5, S6 may be selectively opened and closed to program theoscillation frequency of oscillator 12. Any combination of open andclosed states for switches S5, S6 may correspond to a differentoscillation frequency.

The third differential output of oscillator 12 formed by taps 192, 194may provide an oscillating output signal that is proportional to, butless than, the output signal provided by the second differential outputof oscillator 12 formed by taps 190, 196, which may be proportional to,but less than, the output signal provided by the first differentialoutput of oscillator 12 formed by nodes 170, 180. The gain of a poweramplifier may be able to be varied by selecting which of the voltages toamplify. By using one or more taps of a network of reactive components(e.g., capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8) included in oscillator12 to output different voltages voltage levels, the gain of a poweramplifier may be able to be varied without requiring additional reactivecomponents in the power amplifier or external to the an integratedcircuit. In this way, a variable gain, relatively low-power amplifiermay be obtained with a relatively small number of components.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example reactivecomponent network 208 that may be used in the example oscillators ofthis disclosure. Reactive component network 208 includes capacitors C9,C10, C11, C12, C13, C14, switches S7, S8, S9, S10, and nodes 210, 212,214, 216, 218, 220. Capacitor C9 is coupled between node 210 and node212. Capacitor C10 is coupled between node 212 and node 214. CapacitorC11 is coupled between node 216 and node 218. Capacitor C12 is coupledbetween node 218 and node 220. Capacitor C13 is coupled between switchS7 and switch S8. Capacitor C14 is coupled between switch S9 and switchS10. Switch S7 is coupled between capacitor C13 and node 212. Switch S8is coupled between capacitor C13 and node 218. Switch S9 is coupledbetween capacitor C14 and node 212. Switch S10 is coupled betweencapacitor C14 and node 218.

In some examples, reactive component network 208 in FIG. 12 mayimplement a capacitive attenuator circuit that may be used in a coarsegain control circuit of this disclosure. The capacitive attenuatorcircuit may provide a gain step between a VCO and a power amplifier in atransmitter. In some examples, reactive component network 208 may becombined with the capacitors inside of a VCO core, and switches S7, S8,S9, S10 may provide the attenuator steps.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example amplifier stage230 that may be used in the power amplifiers of this disclosure.Amplifier stage 230 includes transistors 232, 234, 236, 238, anadjustable LDO 240, resistors 242, 244, 246, 248, bias resistors 250,252, adjustable resistances 254, 256, capacitors 258, 260, a ground rail262, and nodes 264, 266, 268, 270, 272, 274, 276, 278.

Transistor 232 is coupled between resistor 242 and node 268.Specifically, a source of transistor 232 is coupled to resistor 242, anda drain of transistor 232 is coupled to node 268. A gate of transistor232 is coupled to node 276. Transistor 234 is coupled between resistor246 and node 268. Specifically, a source of transistor 234 is coupled toresistor 246, and a drain of transistor 234 is coupled to node 268. Agate of transistor 234 is coupled to node 276.

Transistor 236 is coupled between resistor 244 and node 270.Specifically, a source of transistor 236 is coupled to resistor 244, anda drain of transistor 236 is coupled to node 270. A gate of transistor236 is coupled to node 278. Transistor 238 is coupled between resistor248 and node 270. Specifically, a source of transistor 238 is coupled toresistor 248, and a drain of transistor 238 is coupled to node 270. Agate of transistor 238 is coupled to node 278.

Resistor 242 is coupled between transistor 232 and node 272. Resistor244 is coupled between transistor 236 and node 272. Resistor 246 iscoupled between transistor 234 and node 274. Resistor 248 is coupledbetween transistor 238 and node 274. Bias resistor 250 is coupledbetween node 268 and node 276. Bias resistor 252 is coupled between node270 and node 278.

Adjustable resistance 254 is coupled between an output of adjustable LDO240 and node 272. Adjustable resistance 256 is coupled between node 274and ground rail 262. Capacitor 258 is coupled between node 264 and node276. Capacitor 260 is coupled between node 266 and node 278.

Transistors 232, 234 and bias resistor 250 form a first self-biasedamplifier (e.g., self-biased inverter). Transistors 236, 238 and biasresistor 252 form a second self-biased amplifier (e.g., self-biasedinverter). Together transistors 232, 234, 236, 238 and bias resistors250, 252 form a differential self-biased amplifier (e.g., differentialself-biased inverter).

Nodes 264, 266 may form a differential input for amplifier stage 230,and nodes 268, 270 may form a differential output for amplifier stage230. Specifically, node 264 may form a non-inverting input, and node 266may form an inverting input. Similarly, node 268 may form anon-inverting output, and node 270 may form an inverting output.

As shown in FIG. 13, amplifier stage 230 includes: (1) a power rail(e.g., the lead coupled to the output of adjustable LDO 240), anadjustable resistance 254, (2) a first self-biased inverter (e.g.,transistors 232, 234 and resistor 250) coupled to the power rail viaadjustable resistance 254, and (3) a second self-biased inverter (e.g.,transistors 236, 238 and resistor 252) coupled to the power rail (e.g.,the output of adjustable LDO 240) via adjustable resistance 254. Thepower rail is coupled to an adjustable power source, of which adjustableLDO 240 is an example. Amplifier stage 230 further includes anadjustable resistance 256. The first self-biased inverter (e.g.,transistors 232, 234 and resistor 250) is coupled to ground rail 262 viaadjustable resistance 256, and the second self-biased inverter (e.g.,transistors 236, 238 and resistor 252) is coupled to ground rail 262 viaadjustable resistance 256.

The first self-biased inverter includes an input (e.g., node 276), anoutput (e.g., node 268), and a bias resistor 250 coupled between theinput and the output of the first self-biased inverter. The secondself-biased inverter includes an input (e.g., node 278), an output(e.g., node 270), and a bias resistor 252 coupled between the input andthe output of the second self-biased inverter.

During operation, bias resistors 250, 252 bias the self-biased invertersat a voltage that is approximately half-way between the voltage outputby adjustable LDO 240 and ground. Capacitors 258, 260 filter out directcurrent (DC) and other low frequency signal components received at nodes264, 266. The amplifiers formed by transistors 232, 234, 236, 238amplify the filtered input signal received from capacitors 258, 260, andoutput the amplified signal at nodes 268, 270.

In some examples, amplifier stage 230 may implement a self-biased classAB PA stage. Adjustable resistances 254, 256 may control the currentconsumption of the PA stage and provide rejection of the second harmonictone from the VCO, while resistors 242, 244, 246, 248 may provide thelinearity for the stage such that substantially no additional harmonicsare generated.

In some examples, a coarse gain control may be coupled to the adjustableresistances 254, 256 and a fine gain control may be coupled toadjustable LDO 240. In additional examples, adjustable LDO 240 may befixed power supply that is not variable.

Increasing the resistances of adjustable resistances 254, 256 mayincrease the even-order harmonic suppression of amplifier stage 230, butdecrease the gain of amplifier stage 230. Decreasing the resistances ofadjustable resistances 254, 256 may have the opposite effect. As such,by positioning adjustable resistances 254, 256 at the locationsillustrated in FIG. 13, the tradeoff between even-order harmonicsuppression and amplifier gain may be dynamically adjusted and balancedin amplifier stage 230.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example amplifierstage 280 that may be used in the power amplifiers of this disclosure.Amplifier stage 280 includes transistors 282, 284, an adjustable LDO286, switches 288, 290, 292, 294, 296, bias resistors 298, 300, 302,capacitors 304, 306, a ground rail 308, and nodes 310, 312, 314, 316,318, 320, 322, 324, 326, 328.

Transistor 282 is coupled between adjustable LDO 286 and node 320.Specifically, a source of transistor 282 is coupled to an output ofadjustable LDO 286, and a drain of transistor 282 is coupled to node320. A gate of transistor 282 is coupled to node 312. Transistor 284 iscoupled between node 320 and ground rail 308. Specifically, a source oftransistor 284 is coupled to ground rail 308, and a drain of transistor284 is coupled to node 320. A gate of transistor 284 is coupled to node314.

Switch 288 is coupled between node 312 and node 324. Switch 290 iscoupled between node 312 and node 316. Switch 292 is coupled betweennode 316 and node 318. Switch 294 is coupled between node 316 and node314. Switch 296 is coupled between node 314 and node 326. Bias resistor298 is coupled between node 318 and node 320. Bias resistor 300 iscoupled between node 322 and node 324. Bias resistor 302 is coupledbetween node 326 and node 328. Capacitor 304 is coupled between node 310and node 312. Capacitor 306 is coupled between node 310 and node 314.Node 322 is coupled to a first bias voltage source (V_BIAS_P), and node328 is coupled to a second bias voltage source (V_BIAS_N).

When switches 290, 292, 294 are closed, transistors 282, 284 and biasresistor 298 form a self-biased amplifier (e.g., self-biased inverter).Node 310 may form an input for amplifier stage 280, and node 320 mayform an output for amplifier stage 280.

As shown in FIG. 14, amplifier stage 280 includes: (1) an inverterhaving a transistor 282 and a transistor 284, (2) a bias resistor 298coupled to the output (e.g., node 320) of the inverter, (3) a first biasvoltage source (V_BIAS_P), (4) a second bias voltage source (V_BIAS_N),(5) a switch 290 coupled between bias resistor 298 and a gate oftransistor 282, (6) a switch 288 coupled between the first bias voltagesource (V_BIAS_P) and the gate of transistor 282, (7) a switch 294coupled between bias resistor 298 and a gate of transistor 284, and (8)a switch 296 coupled between the second bias voltage source (V_BIAS_N)and the gate of transistor 284. Amplifier stage 280 may include acontrol unit (not shown) coupled to the switches 288, 290, 292, 294, 296and configured to switch amplifier stage 280 between a self-biasedoperating mode and a non-linear operating mode.

During the self-biased operating mode, switches 290, 292, 294 are closedand switches 288, 296 are open. Bias resistor 298 biases the inverterformed by transistors 282, 284 at a voltage that is approximatelyhalf-way between the voltage output by adjustable LDO 286 and ground.Capacitors 304, 306 filter out direct current (DC) and other lowfrequency signal components received at node 310. The amplifier formedby transistors 282, 284 amplifies the filtered input signal received atnodes 312, 314, and outputs he amplified signal at node 320.

During a non-linear operating mode, switches 290, 292, 294 are open andswitches 288, 296 are closed. A first bias voltage source (V_BIAS_P)biases transistor 282 via bias resistor 300. A second bias voltagesource (V_BIAS_N) biases transistor 284 via bias resistor 302.Capacitors 304, 306 filter out direct current (DC) and other lowfrequency signal components received at node 310. The amplifier formedby transistors 282, 284 amplifies the filtered input signal received atnodes 312, 314, and outputs he amplified signal at node 320.

As discussed above, amplifier stage 280 may operate in a self-biasedmode or a non-linear mode depending on the configuration of switches288, 290, 292, 294, 296. The self-biased mode may provide a greaterdegree of linearity than the non-linear mode, but may be less powerefficient. On the other hand, the non-linear mode may be more powerefficient, but provide less linearity. By providing an amplifier stagethat may be configurable to operate in a self-biased mode and anon-linear mode, the tradeoff between linearity and power efficiency maybe dynamically adjusted and balanced in the amplifier.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example amplifierstage 330 that may be used in the power amplifiers of this disclosure.Amplifier stage 330 is similar to the amplifier stage 230 illustrated inFIG. 13 except that: (1) resistors 242, 244, 246, 248 and adjustableresistances 254, 256 are omitted; and (2) transistors 232, 234 andtransistors 236, 238 are separately coupled to adjustable LDO 240. Sameor similar components between FIGS. 13 and 15 have been numbered withidentical reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 15, a source oftransistor 232 is coupled directly to a first output of adjustable LDO240 without any intervening resistance, and a source of transistor 236is coupled directly to a second output of adjustable LDO 240 without anyintervening resistance.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating another example transmitter 340according to this disclosure. Transmitter 340 is similar to transmitter10 shown in FIG. 4 except that transmitter 340 in FIG. 16 includes acoarse gain control circuit 342 instead of a selection circuit 60. Sameor similar components between FIGS. 4 and 16 have been numbered withidentical reference numerals.

A first input of coarse gain control circuit 342 is coupled to the firstoutput of oscillator 12 via connection 20. A second input of coarse gaincontrol circuit 342 is coupled to the second output of oscillator 12 viaconnection 22. An output of coarse gain control circuit 342 is coupledto an input of amplifier stage 62 via connection 70. A control input ofcoarse gain control circuit 342 is coupled to gain control A lead 78.

Coarse gain control circuit 342 may include one or more passiveattenuator circuits (e.g., reactive components) that are configured toattenuate the signals received via connections 20, 22. The passiveattenuator circuits may include capacitive attenuator circuits and/orinductive attenuator circuits. The passive attenuator circuits may bevariable gain passive attenuator circuits (e.g., a network of reactivecomponents with multiple taps) where the gain or level of attenuation ofthe circuit may be varied (e.g., selecting different combination of tapsto produce the output signal). Example capacitive attenuator circuitsare illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12. Example inductive attenuatorcircuits are illustrated in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9.

Coarse gain control circuit 342 may select one of the signals receivedvia connections 20, 22 and attenuate the signal with one or more passiveattenuator circuits to generate an attenuated signal at connection 70.Coarse gain control circuit 342 may determine which of the signals toselect based on the gain control A signal. In cases where the passiveattenuator circuits are variable gain passive attenuator circuits,coarse gain control circuit 342 may determine by how much the passiveattenuator circuit should attenuate the signal based on the gain controlA signal. In some examples, the gain control A signal may include afirst component that determines the signal to select, and a secondcomponent that determines the amount by which the passive attenuator isto attenuate the signal.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating another example transmitter 350according to this disclosure. Transmitter 350 may be similar totransmitter 340 shown in FIG. 16 except that: (1) transmitter 350 inFIG. 17 includes a single-input coarse gain control circuit 352 insteadof a dual-input coarse gain control circuit 342 as shown in FIG. 16; and(2) oscillator 12 is a single-output oscillator 12. Same or similarcomponents between FIGS. 16 and 17 have been numbered with identicalreference numerals.

An input of coarse gain control circuit 352 is coupled to an output ofoscillator 12 via connection 354. An output of coarse gain controlcircuit 352 is coupled to an input of amplifier stage 62 via connection70. A control input of coarse gain control circuit 352 is coupled togain control A lead 78.

Coarse gain control circuit 352 may include one or more passiveattenuator circuits (e.g., reactive components) that are configured toattenuate the signal received via connection 354. The passive attenuatorcircuits may include any of the passive attenuator circuits describedabove with respect to coarse gain control circuit 342 in FIG. 16.

Coarse gain control circuit 352 may attenuate the signal received viaconnection 354 with one or more passive attenuator circuits to generatean attenuated signal at connection 70. In cases where the passiveattenuator circuits are variable gain passive attenuator circuits,coarse gain control circuit 352 may determine by how much the passiveattenuator circuit should attenuate the signal based on the gain controlA signal.

FIG. 17 illustrates an overall transmitter architecture. Coarse gaincontrol circuit 352 may be a tapped inductor, a capacitive attenuator,or a bypass. The elements of coarse gain control circuit 352 may, insome examples, not provide any degradation of VCO phase noise. Amplifierstages 62, 64 may, in some examples, use self-biased amplifiers toengage substantially all of the current consumption towards signalprocessing and amplification. A control circuit may program the outputsignal swings of amplifier stages 62, 64 by changing the power supplyfrom the LDO (e.g., adjustable power supplied 66, 68). The controlcircuit may program each of amplifier stages 62, 64 stage by thecorresponding LDO to cover a wide programming range for output power.Power saving may be obtained by programming the LDO at a relativelydesirable operation point to improve power consumption. For example,coarse gain control circuit 352 may provide attenuation to the VCOsignal, then the LDO settings may be made smaller in order to process asignal of significantly smaller amplitude. Each LDO may, in someexamples, use a replica circuit to obtain the reference voltage for thePA structures. Similar principles may be applied to the other amplifierarchitectures of this disclosure.

In some examples, coarse gain control circuit 352 may be implemented atleast in part by using: (a) capacitive attenuation from a VCO capacitorarray, (b) a tapped inductor by using a symmetrical tapping point fromthe VCO inductor, or (c) a simple bypass.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating another example transmitter 360according to this disclosure. Transmitter 360 may be similar totransmitter 10 shown in FIG. 5 except that transmitter 360 in FIG. 18further includes coarse gain control circuits 362, 364 and gain controlleads 366, 368. Same or similar components between FIGS. 5 and 18 havebeen numbered with identical reference numerals.

An input of coarse gain control circuit 362 is coupled to the firstoutput of oscillator 12 via connection 20. An input of coarse gaincontrol circuit 364 is coupled to the second output of oscillator 12 viaconnection 22. An output of coarse gain control circuit 362 is coupledto an input of amplifier stage 84 via lead 370. An output of coarse gaincontrol circuit 364 is coupled to an input of amplifier stage 88 vialead 372. A control input of coarse gain control circuit 362 is coupledto gain control lead D 366. A control input of coarse gain controlcircuit 364 is coupled to gain control lead E 368.

Coarse gain control circuits 362, 364 may include one or more passiveattenuator circuits (e.g., reactive components) that are configured toattenuate the signals received via connections 20, 22. The passiveattenuator circuits may include any of the passive attenuator circuitsdescribed above with respect to coarse gain control circuit 342 in FIG.16.

Coarse gain control circuit 362 may attenuate the signal received viaconnection 20 with one or more passive attenuator circuits, and outputthe attenuated signal at lead 370. In cases where the passive attenuatorcircuits are variable gain passive attenuator circuits, coarse gaincontrol circuit 362 may determine by how much the passive attenuatorcircuit should attenuate the signal based on a gain control signalreceived via gain control lead D 366.

Coarse gain control circuit 364 may attenuate the signal received viaconnection 22 with one or more passive attenuator circuits, and outputthe attenuated signal at lead 372. In cases where the passive attenuatorcircuits are variable gain passive attenuator circuits, coarse gaincontrol circuit 364 may determine by how much the passive attenuatorcircuit should attenuate the signal based on a gain control signalreceived via gain control lead E 368.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating another example transmitter 380according to this disclosure. Transmitter 380 may be similar totransmitter 360 shown in FIG. 18 except that: (1) transmitter 380 inFIG. 19 includes a single-input power amplifier 14 instead of adual-input power amplifier 14 as shown in FIG. 18, (2) oscillator 12 isa single-output oscillator 12, and (3) both inputs of coarse gaincontrol circuits 362, 364 are coupled to the single output of oscillator12 via connection 382. Same or similar components between FIGS. 18 and19 have been numbered with identical reference numerals.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating another example transmitter 390according to this disclosure. Transmitter 390 may be similar totransmitter 10 shown in FIG. 4 except that: (1) selection circuit 60 andgain control A lead 78 have been omitted from the power amplifier 14 inFIG. 20, and (2) an input of amplifier stage 62 is directly coupled toan output of oscillator 12 via connection 392. Same or similarcomponents between FIGS. 4 and 20 have been numbered with identicalreference numerals.

As shown, for example, in FIGS. 4 and 20, power amplifier 14 includes:(1) an amplifier stage 62 having an input and an output, and (2) anamplifier stage 64 having an input coupled to the output of amplifierstage 62, and (3) an output. Power amplifier 14 further includes: (1) afirst adjustable power supply (e.g., adjustable power source 66) coupledto amplifier stage 62, and (2) a second adjustable power supply (e.g.,adjustable power source 68) coupled to amplifier stage 64. In someexamples, the first and second adjustable power supplies may beprogrammable LDOs and/or adjustable LDOs.

In some examples, an integrated circuit includes a voltage-controlledoscillator (VCO) (e.g., oscillator 12) having one or more reactivecomponents (e.g., reactive component network 34). The integrated circuitfurther includes a programmable passive attenuation circuit (e.g.,reactive component network 34, selection circuit 60, reactive componentand switching circuit 156, coarse gain control circuit 342, coarse gaincontrol circuit 352, coarse gain control circuits 362, 364) coupled tothe VCO. The programmable passive attenuation circuit includes at leasta portion of the one or more reactive components (e.g., reactivecomponent network 34) included in the VCO. The integrated circuitfurther includes a power amplifier (e.g., power amplifier 14) coupled tothe programmable passive attenuation circuit.

In some examples, the programmable passive attenuation circuit is aninductive attenuator. In such examples, the portion of the one or morereactive components may, in some examples, include one or more tappedinductors. In further examples, the programmable passive attenuationcircuit forms a capacitive attenuator. In such examples, the one or morereactive components may, in some examples, include one or morecapacitors

In some examples, the power amplifier includes a first power source, asecond power source, a first amplifier stage coupled to the first powersource, and a second amplifier stage coupled to the second power source.In such examples, the first and second power sources may be programmablepower sources, e.g., programmable LDOs.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating an example technique amplifyingthe power of a signal according to this disclosure. The techniques shownin FIG. 21 may be implemented in many of the circuits described in thisdisclosure. For purposes of this explanation, the technique will bedescribed with respect to transmitter 10 illustrated in FIG. 3.

Oscillator 12 generates, with a reactive component network 34 includedin oscillator 12, a first oscillating signal (400), and outputs thefirst oscillating signal via leads 42, 56. Oscillator 12 outputs, viaone or more taps (e.g., taps 40, 54) included reactive component network34, a second oscillating signal (402). The second oscillating signal hasa magnitude that is proportional to and less than the first oscillatingsignal.

Power amplifier 14 selects one of the first and second oscillatingsignals to use for generating a power-amplified output signal based on again control (404). Power amplifier 14 generates the power-amplifiedoutput signal based on the selected one of the first and secondoscillating signals (406).

In some examples (e.g., FIG. 4), power amplifier 14 may select one ofthe first and second oscillating signals to produce a selectedoscillating signal, and amplify the selected oscillating signal togenerate the power-amplified output signal. In such examples, poweramplifier 14 may, in some examples, amplify the selected oscillatingsignal with a gain that is determined by an adjustable low-dropoutregulator (LDO).

In further examples (e.g., FIG. 5), power amplifier 14 may amplify thefirst oscillating signal to generate a first power-amplified signal,amplify the second oscillating signal to generate a secondpower-amplified signal, select one of the first and secondpower-amplified signals to produce a selected power-amplified signal,and output the selected power-amplified signal as the power-amplifiedoutput signal. In such examples, power amplifier 14 may, in someexamples, amplify the first oscillating signal with a gain that isdetermined by an adjustable low-dropout regulator (LDO), and amplify thesecond oscillating signal with the gain that is determined by theadjustable LDO.

This disclosure describes various power amplifier configurations thatmay be used to realize low-power power amplifier (PA) architectures forlow-power radios. The techniques of this disclosure may providearchitectures that realize low power, high efficiency power amplifierswith a reduced amount of external components to save external bill ofmaterials. The low-power PAs described in this disclosure may, in someexamples, have: (a) high efficiency, (b) low out-of-band harmoniccontents, and (c) gain control. These characteristics may, in someexamples, be realized with a relatively low amount of currentconsumption. The disclosure provides various self-biased transmit PA(TXPA) configurations. The PA architectures described in this disclosuremay, in some examples, provide a relatively low area implementationscheme for gain control.

In some examples, the architecture of power amplifier 14 may be amulti-stage architecture. In some examples, the first stage (e.g.,amplifier stage 62) of the multi-stage architecture may correspond toamplifier stage 230 illustrated in FIG. 13. In such examples, thearchitecture used for the second stage (e.g., amplifier stage 64), mayuse the same configuration in FIG. 13, but without resistors 242, 244,246, 248 and adjustable resistances 254, 256 (i.e., with the resistancevalues of those resistors equal to 0). In this manner, the secondamplifier stage may be configured to either be a single ended or adifferential amplifier, depending on the nature of the externalcomponents (single ended and differential respectively).

To augment the efficiency further, the second amplifier stage mayinclude a programmable gate bias in addition to an adjustable LDO toboost efficiency as illustrated in FIG. 14. The switches may berealized, in some examples, by using minimum size metal-oxidesemiconductor (MOS) transistors. Amplifier stage 280 in FIG. 14 may beconfigured into two different modes: (a) a self-biased class ABarchitecture mode, and (b) a nonlinear type amplifier mode.

To configure amplifier stage 280 into the self-biased class ABarchitecture mode, a control circuit may close switches 290, 292, 294,and open switches 288, 296. In this case, self-biasing is enabledthrough bias resistor 298, and adjustable LDO 286 may be programmed toprovide increased efficiency and linearity as desired.

To configure amplifier stage 280 into the self-biased class ABarchitecture mode, a control circuit may open switches 290, 292, 294,close switches 288, 296, and separately bias each transistor viaseparate bias voltage source (V_BIAS_P, V_BIAS_N). The output ofamplifier stage 280 may be monitored using a built-in-self calibrationto ensure that the DC level at the output is approximately in the middleof the voltage range.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example reactivecomponent network 410 that may be used in the example oscillators ofthis disclosure. Reactive component network 410 includes inductors L16,L17, L18, L19, L20, L21 and nodes 412, 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424,426.

Inductor L16 is coupled between node 412 and node 414. Inductor L17 iscoupled between node 414 and node 416. Inductor L18 is coupled betweennode 416 and node 418. Inductor L19 is coupled between node 420 and node422. Inductor L20 is coupled between node 422 and node 424. Inductor L21is coupled between node 424 and node 426. Taps may be coupled to one ormore of nodes 412, 414, 416, 418, 420, 422, 424, 426.

Inductor L16 is magnetically coupled to inductor L19. Inductor L17 ismagnetically coupled to inductor L20. Inductor L18 is magneticallycoupled to inductor L21. In some examples, inductors L16, L19 may be atransformer, inductors L17, L20 may be a transformer, and/or inductorsL18, L21 may be a transformer.

The taps coupled to nodes 412, 414 may form a first differential output(VCO+, VCO−). The taps coupled to nodes 414, 416 may form a seconddifferential output (PA1+, PA1−). The taps coupled to nodes 420, 426 mayform a third differential output (PA2+, PA2−). The taps coupled to nodes422, 424 may form a fourth differential output (PA3+, PA3−). One or moreof the differential outputs may be coupled to a corresponding input of apower amplifier.

In some examples, nodes 420, 426 may correspond, respectively, to nodes36, 38 in FIGS. 2 and 3. In further examples, nodes 412, 414 maycorrespond, respectively, to nodes 36, 38 in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In some examples, reactive component network 410 may correspond toreactive component network 34 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In such examples,reactive component network 410 may include at least two chains of one ormore reactive components, where each of the chains of reactivecomponents includes one or more reactive components coupled in series(e.g., a first chain formed by inductors L16, L17, L18, and a secondchain formed by inductors L19, L20, L21). The at least two chains ofreactive components may be inductively coupled (or magnetically coupled)to each other. For example, one or more of the reactive components inthe first chain of reactive components may be inductively coupled (ormagnetically coupled) to one or more reactive components in the secondchain of reactive components. One or more taps may be coupled to thefirst chain of reactive components and/or the second chain of reactivecomponents to form one or more differential outputs.

In some examples, the first chain of reactive components may beelectrically coupled to the active circuitry of an oscillator, and thesecond chain of reactive components may be inductively coupled to thefirst chain of reactive components. In some implementations of thisexample, a first differential output may be formed via taps coupled tothe first chain of reactive components, and a second differential outputmay be formed via taps coupled to the second chain of reactivecomponents. In further implementations of this example, at least twodifferential outputs may be formed via taps coupled to the first chainof reactive components. In additional implementations of the firstexample, at least two differential outputs may be formed via tapscoupled to the second chain of reactive components.

In some examples, the inductances of inductor L16 and inductor L18 maybe equal to each other, and the inductances of inductors L19, L20, L21may be equal to each other. In additional examples, the inductance ofinductor L17 may be equal to a first inductance value, the inductance ofeach of inductors L16, L18 may be equal to a second inductance value,and the inductance of each of inductors L19, L20, L21 may be equal to athird inductance value.

A reactive component network may be formed using one or both of a tappedinductor (with direct electrical coupling) and magnetic coupling (DCisolation). The reactive component network may use tapping from one ormore coils (inductors) to generate different outputs with differentlevels of attenuation. The magnetic coupling may implement a fixed(coarse) step attenuator.

In some examples, the coarse step attenuation in the reactive componentsof this disclosure may be process invariant due to the fact that theamount of attenuation may correspond to a ratio between two similarquantities that are also process invariant. In further examples, thecoarse step attenuation may provide frequency independent signalscaling. For example, if a VCO oscillates at 2.4 GHz vs 3.0 GHz, thecoarse gain control techniques of this disclosure may, in such examples,provide the same signal attenuation.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example reactivecomponent network 430 that may be used in the example oscillators ofthis disclosure. Reactive component network 430 includes capacitors C15,C16, C17 and nodes 432, 434, 436, 438.

Capacitor C15 is coupled between node 432 and node 434. Capacitor C16 iscoupled between node 434 and node 436. Capacitor C17 is coupled betweennode 436 and node 438. Taps may be coupled to one or more of nodes 432,434, 436, 438.

The taps coupled to nodes 432, 438 may form a first differential output(VCO+, VCO−). The taps coupled to nodes 434, 436 may form a seconddifferential output (PA+, PA−). FIG. 23 illustrates a configurationwhere tapping may be exercised using multiple capacitors connected inseries, and the signals may be symmetrically taken out of the reactivecomponent network to interface with a power amplifier.

Each of capacitors C15, C16, C17 in the example configuration of FIG. 23is a variable capacitance. In other examples, all of capacitors C15,C16, C17 may be fixed capacitances, or some of capacitors C15, C16, C17may be variable capacitances and some of capacitors C15, C16, C17 may befixed capacitances. In some examples, the variable capacitances may bevoltage controlled. In some examples, the capacitances of capacitorsC15, C17 may be equal to each other, and the capacitance of capacitorC16 may be different from the capacitances of capacitors C15, C17.

In examples where capacitors C15, C16, C17 are fixed capacitances,reactive component network 430 may provide a constant attenuationfactor. In some implementations where capacitors C15, C16, C17 arevoltage-controlled variable capacitances, all of capacitors C15, C16,C17 may be programmed by the same control voltage, in which case,constant attenuation may be achieved and the center frequency of the VCOmay be changed by the same set of capacitors. In additionalimplementations where capacitors C15, C16, C17 are voltage-controlledvariable capacitances, capacitors C15, C16, C17 may be programmed withrespect to different voltages. For example, the capacitances (C0) ofcapacitors C15, C17 may be programmed by a first voltage (V0), and thecapacitance (C1) of capacitor C16 may be programmed by a second voltage(V1). In such an implementation, both C0 and C1 may take part infrequency control, and by making V0 change in a different manner thanV1, a variable attenuator step (fine control in addition to a coarsegain control) may be achieved.

Ultra low power transceivers may use a low power PA with multiple gainsteps for reduction of overall system power. It may be desirable toimplement such receivers with a minimum number of external components.

This disclosure describes various techniques to achieve, in someexamples, low-power PAs. According to a first technique, a class ABstyle two-stage PA architecture may be used for power amplification,where each stage may be independently programmed through separate LDOs.According to a second technique a coarse gain step may be obtained usinga capacitive attenuator and a fine gain step may be provided throughLDOs. This technique may simplify the design of the gain steps.According to a third technique, a coarse gain step is obtained using atapped inductor (e.g., auto transformer). The tapped inductor may, insome cases, consume zero additional power and area. A fine gain step maybe performed using LDOs

In some cases, the LDOs may not have to cover the entire range for gainssteps because of the coarse gain step provided by the tapped inductorsand/or capacitive attenuators. This may reduce the power consumption andarea of the resulting amplifier. In some examples, on-chip calibrationtechniques for frequency drift may be used to compensate for finiteisolation offered by the two-stage PA to the VCO.

In some examples, coarse gain control and fine gain control may beprovided by programmable LDOs. In further examples, coarse gain controlmay be provided using a capacitive attenuator, and fine gain control maybe provided using an LDO. In additional examples, coarse gain controlmay be provided using an auto-transformer, and fine gain control may beprovided using an LDO.

The techniques of this disclosure, in some examples, may use a class ABPA architecture. This may allow operation, in some examples, with onlyone radio frequency (RF) pin, and with low externals. In some examples,no degeneration is used, leading to a reduced current consumption andbetter power efficiency. In further examples, various stages areself-biased, with a relatively simple design, and the gain may be fullycontrolled by an LDO. In additional examples, the gain step realized byone or more of the following: (1) fully by LDO control (both coarse andfine), (2) partially by capacitive attenuator (coarse steps usingcapacitive attenuator, fine step using LDOs), and (3) partially byinductor tapping (coarse steps using autotransformer, fine step usingLDOs

In some examples, the amplifier stages may be self-biased, which mayallow biasing to occur with no additional overhead in terms of biascurrent. In further examples, the gain step may be implemented using:(1) an LDO only, (2) an LDO and capacitive attenuator, (3) an LDO andtapped inductor. In additional examples, the techniques of thisdisclosure may use two stages that use independent LDOs, which may allowthe architecture to be reconfigured with respect to efficiency andharmonic performance. In further examples, the techniques of thisdisclosure may use a relatively low number of amplifier stages for lowerpower consumption. In case a VCO frequency shift occurs resulting fromgain changes, a calibration engine may be enabled.

The techniques and circuitry described in this disclosure may, in someexamples, be implemented on any combination of one or more integratedcircuits or other devices. Although illustrative examples have beenshown and described by way of example, a wide range of alternativeexamples are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit comprising: anoscillator that includes a first output and a second output; a poweramplifier that includes: a first amplifier stage that includes an inputcoupled to the first output of the oscillator and includes an output; asecond amplifier stage that includes an input coupled to the output ofthe first amplifier stage and includes an output; a third amplifierstage that includes an input coupled to the second output of theoscillator and includes an output; a fourth amplifier stage thatincludes an input coupled to the output of the third amplifier stage andincludes an output; and a selection circuit that includes a first inputcoupled to the output of the second amplifier stage and a second inputcoupled to the output of the fourth amplifier stage, wherein theoscillator is configured to: provide a first oscillating signal at thefirst output; and provide a second oscillating signal at the secondoutput that is an attenuated version of the first oscillating signal. 2.The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein: the first amplifier stageand the third amplifier stage each include a power input; the poweramplifier further includes a first adjustable power source that includesa gain control input and a power output coupled to the power input ofthe first amplifier stage and to the power input of the third amplifierstage; and the first adjustable power source is configured to: receive afirst gain control signal at the gain control input; and provide a powersignal at the power output having a power level based on the first gaincontrol signal.
 3. The integrated circuit of claim 2, wherein: thesecond amplifier stage and the fourth amplifier stage each include apower input; the power amplifier further includes a second adjustablepower source that includes a gain control input and a power outputcoupled to the power input of the second amplifier stage and to thepower input of the fourth amplifier stage; and the second adjustablepower source is configured to: receive a second gain control signal atthe gain control input; and provide a power signal at the power outputhaving a power level based on the second gain control signal.
 4. Theintegrated circuit of claim 3, wherein: the first adjustable powersource includes a first programmable low-dropout regulator; and thesecond adjustable power source includes a second programmablelow-dropout regulator.
 5. The integrated circuit of claim 3, wherein:the selection circuit further includes a control input; and theselection circuit is configured to: receive a third gain control signalat the control input; select one of the output of the second amplifierstage and the output of the fourth amplifier stage based on the thirdgain control signal; and provide a signal at the output based on theselected one of the output of the second amplifier stage and the outputof the fourth amplifier stage.
 6. The integrated circuit of claim 1,wherein the power amplifier further includes: a first gain controlcircuit that couples the first amplifier stage to the first output ofthe oscillator; and a second gain control circuit that couples the thirdamplifier stage to the second output of the oscillator.
 7. Theintegrated circuit of claim 1, wherein each of: the first output of theoscillator, the second output of the oscillator, the input of the firstamplifier stage, and the input of the third amplifier stage isstructured as a differential pair.
 8. The integrated circuit of claim 7,wherein each of the first amplifier stage and the third amplifier stageincludes: a first transistor that includes a gate coupled to a firstinput of the differential pair of the input of the respective amplifierstage; a source coupled to a power node; and a drain coupled to a firstoutput of the differential pair of the output of the respectiveamplifier stage; a second transistor that includes a gate coupled to thefirst input of the differential pair of the input of the respectiveamplifier stage; a source coupled to a ground node; and a drain coupledto the first output of the differential pair of the output of therespective amplifier stage; a third transistor that includes a gatecoupled to a second input of the differential pair of the input of therespective amplifier stage; a source coupled to the power node; and adrain coupled to a second output of the differential pair of the outputof the respective amplifier stage; and a fourth transistor that includesa gate coupled to the second input of the differential pair of the inputof the respective amplifier stage; a source coupled to the ground node;and a drain coupled to the second output of the differential pair of theoutput of the respective amplifier stage.
 9. An integrated circuitcomprising: an oscillator that includes a first output and a secondoutput; a power amplifier that includes: a first amplifier stage thatincludes an input coupled to the first output of the oscillator andincludes an output; a second amplifier stage that includes an inputcoupled to the output of the first amplifier stage and includes anoutput; a third amplifier stage that includes an input coupled to thesecond output of the oscillator and includes an output; a fourthamplifier stage that includes an input coupled to the output of thethird amplifier stage and includes an output; and a selection circuitthat includes a first input coupled to the output of the secondamplifier stage and a second input coupled to the output of the fourthamplifier stage, wherein: the first output of the oscillator is a firstdifferential output pair that includes a first output node and a secondoutput node; the second output of the oscillator is a seconddifferential output pair that includes a third output node and a fourthoutput node; and the oscillator includes a network of reactivecomponents coupled between the first output node and the second outputnode.
 10. The integrated circuit of claim 9, wherein the network ofreactive components includes: a first inductor that directly couples thefirst output node to the third output node; a set of inductors thatcouples the third output node to the fourth output node; and a secondinductor that directly couples the fourth output node to the secondoutput node.
 11. The integrated circuit of claim 10, wherein the set ofinductors includes a third inductor that directly couples the thirdoutput node to a power supply node and a fourth inductor that directlycouples the fourth output node to the power supply node.
 12. Theintegrated circuit of claim 9, wherein the oscillator further includes:a first transistor that includes a source coupled to a ground node, adrain coupled to the first output node, and a gate coupled to the secondoutput node; and a second transistor that includes a source coupled tothe ground node, a drain coupled to the second output node, and a gatecoupled to the first output node.
 13. The integrated circuit of claim 9,wherein: the network of reactive components includes capacitors coupledin series between the first output node and the second output node; anda subset of the capacitors is coupled in series between the third outputnode and the fourth output node.
 14. A circuit device comprising: apower amplifier that includes: a first set of differential inputsconfigured to couple to an oscillator; a second set of differentialinputs configured to couple to the oscillator; an output configured tocouple to a matching network; a first amplifier stage coupled to thefirst set of differential inputs; a second amplifier stage coupled tothe first amplifier stage; a third amplifier stage coupled to the secondset of differential inputs; a fourth amplifier stage coupled to thethird amplifier stage; a selection circuit coupled to the secondamplifier stage and the fourth amplifier stage, wherein the selectioncircuit includes an output coupled to the output of the power amplifier;a first gain control input; a first adjustable power source thatincludes an input coupled to the first gain control input and an outputcoupled to the first amplifier stage and the third amplifier stage,wherein the first adjustable power source is configured to provide afirst power signal at the output having a power level based on the firstgain control input; a second gain control input; and a second adjustablepower source that includes an input coupled to the second gain controlinput and an output coupled to the second amplifier stage and the fourthamplifier stage, wherein the second adjustable power source isconfigured to provide second a power signal at the output having a powerlevel based on the second gain control input.
 15. The circuit device ofclaim 14, wherein each of the first adjustable power source and thesecond adjustable power source includes a programmable low-dropoutregulator.
 16. The circuit device of claim 14, wherein the poweramplifier further includes: a first gain control circuit coupled betweenthe first set of differential inputs and the first amplifier stage; anda second gain control circuit coupled between the second set ofdifferential inputs and the third amplifier stage.
 17. The circuitdevice of claim 16, wherein: the first gain control circuit includes again control input coupled to receive a first gain control signal; andthe second gain control circuit includes a gain control input coupled toreceive a second gain control signal that is independent of the firstgain control signal.
 18. The circuit device of claim 14 furthercomprising the oscillator, wherein the oscillator includes: a first setof differential outputs coupled to the first set of differential inputsof the power amplifier, wherein the first set of differential outputsincludes a first output node and a second output node; a set of reactivecomponents coupled between the first output node and the second outputnode; and a second set of differential outputs coupled to the second setof differential inputs of the power amplifier.
 19. The circuit device ofclaim 18, wherein: the second set of differential outputs includes athird output node and a fourth output node; the set of reactivecomponents includes a set of capacitors coupled in series between thefirst output node and the second output node; and the set of capacitorsincludes a subset of capacitors coupled in series between the thirdoutput node and the fourth output node.
 20. The circuit device of claim18, wherein: the second set of differential outputs includes a thirdoutput node and a fourth output node; the set of reactive componentsincludes a set of inductors coupled in series between the first outputnode and the second output node; and the set of inductors includes asubset of inductors coupled in series between the third output node andthe fourth output node.